donation

On June 18, the Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education approved next year’s budget for their district. MLive reports that although the 2012-2013 budget includes $9 million in cuts due to decreased enrollment, board members voted to allocate $990,000 to hire 11 more teachers to support increased arts education.

These additional teachers will facilitate full-year—as opposed to semester-long—art and music instruction for the district’s elementary school students.

In addition to the financial boost, students in Grand Rapids schools have also received attention from celebrities this month.

On June 14, students from City and Creston high schools in Grand Rapids accompanied the British-American rock band Foreigner on stage at the Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park Amphitheater singing their hit, “I Wanna Know What Love Is.”

ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) - Oakland University says a donor who has requested anonymity is giving $21 million to the school to help enhance students' academic experiences.

The Rochester school said Monday that university President Gary Russi announced the donation in an email to the campus community. Russi says it's the largest single planned and cash gift from an individual in Oakland University history.

Russi says the gifts "will touch the lives of hundreds of student and faculty for generations to come."

The University of Michigan Medical Research Institute received a gift of $56 million from A. Alfred Taubman, a real estate developer and philanthropist from Michigan. The funds will be used for stem cell and cancer research.

U-M President, Mary Sue Coleman, says the money will go toward what is called high-risk research:

Maj. Craig Stoker of the Salvation Army in Alpena tells The Alpena News that he received a call about 9 a.m. Saturday from a man who said he wanted to give something special to bell ringer Jackalyn Skiba. Stoker said the man declined to disclose the nature of the gift or why he had singled Skiba out... the money will be put into the Christmas fund, which to date has collected $129,000. This year's goal was $159,000.